'I fell for his voice on the radio': A fan-turned-friend's memories of Jayachandran Sir

'I fell for his voice on the radio': A fan-turned-friend's memories of Jayachandran Sir

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The one and only P Jayachandran Sir. Ours was a 30-year-old relationship.

I began as a fan and went on to become someone with whom he would talk almost daily. And how can I forget that one month he spent with us without uttering a word, only reaching out through writing when he needed something. Ours was a unique bond and I was blessed that it came to be.

I first heard a song by Malayalam's bhavagayakan while I was studying at University College, Thiruvananthapuram. I was a BSc student then and I heard the song on a radio in the college laboratory. I fell for his voice with that song.

I had the privilege to watch his first ganamela. It was at Kavilkadavu in Thiruvananthapuram. He rendered his hit song Poovum Prasadavum there. All others were film songs rendered by other singers like Yesudas. I have attended over 150 ganamelas in which he sang.

It was a friend named Pradeep who introduced me to Sir when he came to Thiruvananthapuram for a song recording. We hit it off instantly and the relationship grew stronger over the years. Several times he had told me that we should have met much earlier.

In 1997, I moved to a new house in Thiruvananthapuram. He stayed at my home for six days when he arrived in the city for a recording. When we were together, we would chat late into the night, sometimes up to 3 pm, singing songs and discussing them.

In 2003, he was down with a throat problem. His wife told me about his condition over the phone. Based on my request, he came to stay with me. I took him to a good ENT doctor here and he was advised one month of voice rest.

This was the month he stayed in my house without uttering a word. Imagine having the great singer around without hearing him speak or sing. He communicated to us in writing. The treatment turned out to be a success and he was cured. Afterwards, his first song was Aalilathaaliyumaay in the film Mizhi Randilum. What a return it proved to be!

He used to call me over the phone almost every day. The usual time of call was 9.30 pm and it would last until 11 pm. I would play some of his songs on the laptop and then talk about them. Sometimes, I surprised him with old songs from other languages.

The daily calls stopped after he fell in the bathroom and suffered an injury on December 9. My wife and I had visited him at Lakeshore Hospital where he underwent a surgery.

He used to worry about even minor illnesses and would become happy when I assured him that everything would be okay. He would jokingly say that my words had a therapeutic effect.

I spoke to him for the last time when he called me over the phone on Wednesday. He was saddened by his bad health. He said he felt very tired.

As usual, I comforted him. I said he will regain health and would be able to go for recordings in one month's time. But this time, I was to be proven wrong.